


Dogs of Marmora

by EdgarAllenPoet



Series: Dads of Marmora [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Kolivan POV, dads of marmora, dogs in space, humans are confusing, team gets a dog, what are tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-28 21:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11426316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdgarAllenPoet/pseuds/EdgarAllenPoet
Summary: "  'What is that thing and why is it in my castle?' Allura asked.  None of the paladins replied.  Kolivan offered her a helpless shrug.'It’s a dog.'  "





	Dogs of Marmora

**Author's Note:**

> so this was requested by... someone...... I'm so sorry. Tumblr is being a TURD and won't let me go that far back in my notifications to find your url, man. You know who you are. This is for you!

“What is a ‘dog’?” Kolivan asked one evening, after spending an entire meal time listening to the paladins discussing these creatures- whatever they were.  Shiro, Pidge, and Lance had all shared stories of their own, and Hunk had spoke fondly of something called a ‘cat.’  Keith stated that he’d never had either, but cats seemed the better option.  

 

At least the Alteans had seemed just as puzzled as Kolivan.  Antok hadn’t been paying any attention. 

 

“A dog?” Pidge asked.  Kolivan tilted his head up to try and get a look at her.  She was currently perched up on his shoulders, using him as a ladder in order to reach some paneling on the green lion that she was digging around in.  He hadn’t known what he was getting into when he agreed to, ‘hey, come stand here for a minute?’ but he didn’t mind much anyways.  The tiny one was nice, and she thought aloud as she worked.  This was an easy way to learn more about the lion’s mechanics, even if he couldn’t see what it was she was doing. 

 

“It’s like, uh… hold on.”  There was a bit of a clatter above his head, and she shifted around, patting at her clothing before leaning both elbows on the top of his head and shouting, “Hey, Lance!  Phone!” 

 

The blue one was halfway across the room lounging on a work bench, his head propped up on the large one’s thigh while the latter worked on a small mechanics project on the table before them.  “Catch!” he called back, then chucked the small orange device in their direction.  

 

It flew above both of their heads, and Pidge jumped up to catch it.  Kolivan instinctively grabbed onto her ankles so she wouldn’t topple backwards off his shoulders and hurt herself.  Humans were kind of delicate.  A fall from this height could actually cause damage.

 

“Thanks, bro.”  She righted herself, hooking her ankles against the middle of Kolivan’s chest and leaning around sideways to show him the screen of her device.  “Here’s some pictures from home.  This is my dog Dave.” 

 

“Dave?” Lance asked critically. 

 

Kolivan felt Pidge shift again, probably in the human gesture ‘shrugging,’ which he’d learned was to express nonchalance.  She reached around his head and flicked to another picture.  “Matt named him when we were little,” she said.  “It’s not my fault.” 

 

“Dave is a fitting name,” Kolivan commented.  “What is the function of this Earth species?” 

 

Pidge passed the device down and let Kolivan move through the pictures himself. Lance was the one that answered.  “They’re companion animals,” he answered.  “Like, they used to be hunters and stuff, but now they’re domesticated and friendly and they like to cuddle and play games.” 

 

“How did you get them to agree to this?” Kolivan asked.  “Hunters… to this?  Living in your homes?” 

 

“I mean, they’re not exactly intelligent creatures,” Pidge started to say, but she was cut off by an outraged gasp from across the room. 

 

“You take that back!” Lance exclaimed. 

 

“Humans are the only species on Earth that use language, except for like… parrots…. But anyways, they’re just pets.  That’s what they’re bred for.” 

 

“But they’re carnivores?” Kolivan asked, still not quite understanding why any human would want this small beast in their homes.  The teeth were obviously designed for tearing, the snout and legs for hunting.  They were weapon-like animals, but the image on Pidge’s device showed ‘Dave’ mostly napping. 

 

“They’re friend shaped,” Pidge replied.  Lance picked up his head and nodded.  Kolivan was more lost than ever. 

  
  
  


…

 

Kolivan mostly forgot about the dog thing.  It simply wasn’t a priority for his attention, not with them traversing the universe and visiting new planets on the daily.  Each day was filled new adventures, new cultures to try and cooperate with, new dangers to fight against.  Between that and all that there was to do on the castle, they were kept pretty busy, and dinner conversations were forgotten as what they were- idle entertainment to pass the time. 

 

It was quite a bit of time later that Kolivan even thought about it again.  He was in his quarters going over some communication logs on one of the castle’s information pads when Antok let himself in.  He knocked quickly, the quick code specific to him so that the other Blade members would know who it was before they entered.  It was more out of habit than anything, he was willing to bet.  Kolivan didn’t turn his head to look up, feeling pretty secure in the castle.  

 

Antok wasted no further time on formalities, instead entering the room and crossing to the bed against the wall.  He sat down on it and made himself comfortable.  They weren’t used to sleeping in beds, but Kolivan had to admit, the mattresses sure were comfortable. 

 

Antok lounged back, flipped his mask up to rest on his head, and crossed his arms over his chest.  “I am worried about Keith,” he stated.  Kolivan pulled his attention away from the screen. 

 

“By what cause?” 

 

“He has not attended two evening meals in a row, now,” Antok stated.  “He is not sick, that I could sense, but he is quiet.” 

 

“He is often quiet,” Kolivan answered.  Not as quiet as they were used to.  Not as quiet as a typical Marmoran during a time of seriousness (the young ones among them could be quite rowdy during peace times, but it had been a while since any of them had the luxury to relax), but slightly quieter than the rest of the Earthlings on board.  

 

“Not this quiet,” Antok replied.  “Something may be wrong.” 

 

“Did you speak with him?” 

 

“You are better with words.” 

 

Kolivan cast Antok a bored expression and sighed.  Better with diplomatic meetings and war strategies, maybe, but he had quickly learned that Earthlings communicated in a way that was much more complex.  They lacked the basic understanding of body language, not picking up on any social cues whatsoever, it seemed.  Kolivan blamed the immobile ears.  How were they supposed to emote without them?  

 

There were other things he struggled with. Sarcasm, for one.  The sudden and inexplicable shifts in mood.  And the emotions.  Oh, the emotions.  One rarely saw this much empathy in Galran  _ cubs _ , but these young Earthlings were overflowing with feelings over seemingly everything.  

 

Kolivan thanked the stars for the castle’s translating system.  The last thing he wanted to deal with was a language barrier on top of it.  He’d heard them communicating when the translators had been disabled, and the sounds were garbled nonsense.  Kolivan wasn’t sure his mouth could even form the same sounds.

 

They struggled, yes, but it was a slowly unravelling mystery.  Antok could have gone to talk to the boy; he was simply being lazy.  If Kolivan wasn’t the fountain of patience and level headedness that he was, he would have said something about it.  Then again, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. 

 

He found Keith in his own room, curled up in the corner of his bed with a small leather book in his lap, a writing utensil caught between his teeth.  His head snapped up when the door to his quarters whizzed open, and he quickly slammed the book shut and shoved it under his pillow.  It was full of handwritten messages, he knew.  Kolivan had seen it before. 

 

“Be at peace,” he said as a greeting, noting Keith’s heart beating far above resting ranges for his species.  Keith eyed him warily, slowly uncurling from the tight ball he’d formed. 

 

“Sorry,” he said. 

 

“May I enter?” 

 

“Sure.” 

 

Kolivan stepped into the room and sat on the edge of Keith’s bed, on the opposite corner from the one Keith was occupying.  Keith continued to eye him with distrust.  Kolivan wondered how long it would take for that look in his eye to go away. 

 

He’d thought that it was just a human thing, at first, but the others had dropped the behavior quickly.  Perhaps it was residual damage left over from the Trials, not that Kolivan thought Keith would be that weak.  He doubted Keith thought that was any reason for mistrust between them. 

 

Kolivan didn’t actually know what Keith thought, which was why he was there in the first place. 

 

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

 

“Fine.” 

 

“Your behavior suggests otherwise.” 

 

Keith’s shift in mood was sudden and incandescent.  He breathed out heavily and narrowed his eyes at the corner of the room.  Avoiding eye contact meant a number of different things in human interaction, Kolivan had learned.  He wasn’t sure what this one meant.  “Okay,  _ Shiro _ ,” Keith grumbled.  Kolivan grew more confused, lowering his ears in response.  Keith sighed. 

 

“Sarcasm,” he grumbled.  If he had a tail, it would be flicking with irritation.  Kolivan kind of wished he did, just to make this all easier.  Plus it would be kind of endearing. 

 

“Ah,” Kolivan replied. “Should I assume you do not wish to discuss what’s bothering you?”

 

“ _ Nothing _ is bothering me.”  His tone was harsh.  Kolivan’s ears went back further.  Sometimes the temptation to pick the paladins up by the scruff of the neck and shake them around was a great one.

 

“May we never send you on intel missions, you are a shoddy liar.”  

 

Keith let out a growl- a very human noise, not Galran in the slightest.  Kolivan could mark that one off their half-breed checklist, then- and knocked his head back against the wall, eyes closed.  “I got in a fight with the guys, okay?” he snapped.  “And Shiro said I should apologize, which I’m going to, it’s just… words are hard.  I’m not great at interacting with people.”

 

“Communication is… difficult…” Kolivan agreed hesitantly, trying to feel out where Keith stood on this issue, not wanting to be wrong.  Keith nodded.

 

His voice came out on the wisp of a single breath, “Yeah.” 

 

Kolivan couldn’t help but observe something.  “You seem lonely.” 

 

Just like that Keith was shutting down again, body language going still entirely and face dropping blank.  “I’m fine,” he said, voice snapping again.  “I’m gonna go….”  He didn’t finish that sentence, but he did get up and leave the room, leaving Kolivan to his own thoughts. 

 

Keith had trouble talking.  Keith was lonely.  

 

Dogs couldn’t talk.  Dogs were companion animals.  ‘Friend-shaped,’ as Pidge had said. 

 

Well then, Kolivan made his mind up.  They ought to get Keith a dog. 

  
  
  


…

  
  


“I’m picking up a heat signature to the northeast,” Pidge’s voice reported through the comms.  “There isn’t any known civilization alive on this planet, so approach with caution.” 

 

“Roger that,” Hunk responded from right next to him.  Kolivan and Hunk were trudging through the woods, headed off to investigate an abandoned Galran hub from the very start of the empire, back when Zarkon’s forces had worked in secret and out of sight of the Altean powers.  Coran believed there could be important information left over, something that could give clues towards the downfall of Altea.  There were three hubs on the planet.  Kolivan and Hunk were going to one, Shiro and Lance to another, and Keith and Antok to the third.  Pidge was back at the castle running surveillance and emergency retrieval for all of them while Allura and Coran kept the castle airborne. 

 

While they walked, Hunk was working on a bomb. 

 

For the most part Voltron worked by a ‘do no harm, take no shit, leave no trace,’ kind of honor code (at least, that’s what Lance had told him), but they recognized that the information they stumbled upon this mission might not be something that should be left out to be discovered.  In case that was the situation, Hunk had armed the other two groups with a small explosive device.  He hadn’t had time to finish the third, which was why he worked on it now. 

 

Kolivan occasionally reached out to steady him or guide him away from walking into a tree or off a cliff.  Their path was a bit treacherous.  Luckily, according to Pidge’s guidance, they were almost there. 

 

Hunk finished his bomb and slipped it into his pocket just as they made it to their destination.  The building they reached was covered in vines.  Centuries of dust and grime clung to what might have been windows at one time.  Plantlife sealed over the doorways like curtains.  Kolivan and Hunk approached the building, treading lightly on the balls of their feet.  Then Kolivan heard a scuffing noise, like something moving about inside.  He sensed another presence nearby, something living, and shoved Hunk behind him and drew his blade. 

 

“Tread lightly,” he warned Hunk, who gulped and hefted his now-activated bayard onto his shoulder.  It wasn’t a graceful style of combat, but Kolivan had to admit that the light canon was highly effective.  He didn’t want to get hit with it.

 

“Do you hear that?” Hunk whispered.

 

“It’s coming.”  The noises grew louder, presence drew closer, and after seconds of agonizing anticipation, it burst from the curtain of vines in a flurry of movement.

 

Kolivan crouched, blade at the ready, but Hunk dropped his weapon with an overjoyed gasp. 

 

His bayard lay inactive on the forest floor while Hunk edged around Kolivan and approached the creature.  It snarled, teeth out and hackles raised, and instead of retreating as any sensible being would, Hunk took a step closer and held both of his hands out, ready to be bitten off. 

 

“What are you doing?” Kolivan asked.  He was ready to grab Hunk and pull him to safety at a moment’s notice, but Hunk looked nothing near concerned in his reckless abandon.  The creature drew closer, sniffed around Hunk’s outstretched hands cautiously.  Hunk sunk to his knees, and Kolivan was sure the thing would lunge for his throat, but then it relaxed. 

 

It’s snarling was replaced with panting, and it pressed its nose to Hunk’s hands excitedly, wagging its tail and leaping about in play.  Kolivan stood back puzzled and watched as Hunk laughed.  The thing licked the plate of his helmet.  He laughed harder. 

 

“What…?”

 

“It’s a  _ dog _ !” Hunk exclaimed.  

 

“It is?”  The ‘dog’ Pidge had shown on her device was much different looking than this one.  Hers had been white, squat and round, with a pointed nose and upstanding ears.  This thing was blonde, tall, and slender, with long hair and floppy ears.  It bounded around in excitement, and Hunk allowed himself to be knocked over as the dog crawled on top of him and continued licking furiously at his visor. 

 

“It’s a golden retriever,” Hunk said.  “Like, an  _ actual _ golden retriever.  What is he doing all the way out here?”

 

“It is not made of gold,” Kolivan noted.  He sheathed his blade and dropped his guard ever so slightly.  “What does it retrieve?” 

 

Hunk made some kind of broken sound in his throat.  “My  _ heart _ .  Can we keep him?”

 

Kolivan was not the person to ask about that.  “Um.”

 

“We’re keeping him.  Please?” 

 

Well, it had been his idea to try and get a dog in the first place.  He hadn’t planned on finding a literal dog, but something from Earth was better than anything else he might find.  

 

“Sure,” Kolivan said.  “We still need to complete the mission.” 

 

They did as they’d set out to do, and once they had the files secured, Kolivan was tasked with carrying the dog (“Blondie,” Hunk stated firmly.  “Her name is Blondie.”) far, far away from the site (“So the explosion won’t hurt her  _ wittle ears! _ ”).  

 

He’d thought Hunk’s behavior regarding the dog was strange, but then they got the thing back to the castle, and he was quickly proved wrong. 

 

“Is that a dog!?” 

 

“It’s not just a  _ dog _ , Keith, it’s the  _ prettiest space princess in the world!” _

 

“Allura’s gonna be jealous if she hears you say that.” 

 

“I don’t care I  _ love her _ .   _ Yes I do, girl.  Yes I do.” _

 

Pidge was kneeling on the floor next to Lance, both of them in full paladin armor except for their helmets.  She wrapped her arms around the dog’s middle and buried her face in its fur.  “She  _ soooo soft,” _ she whined, sounding close to tears. 

 

“Her name is Blondie,” Hunk informed them. 

 

“Like the band?” 

 

“Get your emo quiznack out of here, Keith.”

 

“Don’t cuss in front of Blondie!  Young ears, dude!” 

 

“You’re right, she’s just a  _ baby!” _

 

Eventually even Keith joined in doting over the dog, and Kolivan continued to watch in perplexed amusement as Allura and Coran made their way down the hallway.  “What is that thing and why is it in my castle?” Allura asked.  None of the paladins replied.  Kolivan offered her a helpless shrug. 

 

“It’s a dog.” 

 

Shiro was the last to leave the hangar, and Kolivan didn’t know what reaction to expect from him, but he certainly hadn’t expected the soft gasp the black paladin gave when he laid eyes on the thing.  The dog’s head snapped to him, ears raised excitedly, and it pried itself carefully away from the other paladins to walk over to Shiro.  

 

Shiro dropped to his knees, armor clanging loudly against the hallway floor.  The dog walked right up to him and set its chin on his shoulder, and Shiro was immediately in tears.

Hunk was also in tears, but that wasn’t exactly rare.  Lance was looking rather misty eyed himself, and with the dog away from them now, he wrapped both arms firmly around Pidge and held on.  She put up minimal protests against him, but for the most part let it happen.  Kolivan had seen her fight before.  He knew she could properly remove Lance if she wanted to.

 

Hunk wrapped an arm around Keith and held on, and Keith just leaned into his side like it was nothing.  Shiro continued to bond with the dog, or whatever it was he was doing.  Coran and Allura exchanged a shrug. 

 

“We kept the Kaltenecker,” Coran said after a bit of time.  “Don’t see why we can’t keep this one too.  This….” 

 

“Blondie,” Pidge answered.

 

“This Blondie.  Why not?” 

 

“Hi Blondie,” Shiro murmured to the dog in the tiniest of voices.  It responded by licking his face, wiping away any evidence of tears having been there.  

 

Kolivan decided to give them all some privacy, leave them to their Earthling bonding.  He nodded politely and made his way down the hallway, seeking out Antok, wherever he’d gone to hide.

  
  


…

  
  


Sometimes Kolivan made rounds through the castle at night, the habit left over from his time with The Blade and his time under Zarkon before that.  It was good to keep watch, and Kolivan slept better if he knew someone had done a security check.  The castle had a security system, sure, but Kolivan didn’t trust easily. 

 

If you want something done right…. 

 

On his route through the castle, Kolivan passed by each of the paladin’s rooms in turn.  Keith, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk were all next to each other in the center of one hallway.  Shiro’s room sat apart, identical to the others but distant.

 

It wasn’t uncommon for him to encounter nightmares during these walks.  For the most part he left them to their own devices, but it didn’t sit right with him to ignore someone in a bad dream when it was nearly effortless to shake them awake.  He couldn’t just leave them in distress, especially not people so young. 

 

Shiro had more nightmares than any of them.  Either that, or he was the loudest about it.  He liked to pretend it was a secret, which shouldn’t have been a surprise.  Kolivan could respect his reservations, and he’d perfected the art of waking Shiro from his dreams and removing himself from the room before Shiro even realized he was there.  Shiro was so embarrassed when Kolivan remained.  He didn’t like to deal with the aftermath, so Kolivan wouldn’t make him.

 

It was a night like any other.  Kolivan had already circled the training room, the meal quarters, the command deck, and the royal chambers.  He was passing through the paladin’s hallway, just going by Hunk’s room when he heard the tell tale noise of a bad dream in progress from down the hall.

 

He hastened his pace, heading for the room of the black paladin.  He was a short distance away when someone else beat him to it, slipping out of Pidge’s open door and trotting into Shiro’s.  Kolivan watched as the dog hopped onto Shiro’s bed, circled a few times, and eventually curled up with its nose on Shiro’s pillow.

 

He watched as Shiro shifted in his sleep, wrapping his flesh arm around the creature and pulling it closer, burying his nose in the animal’s fur. 

 

He stayed there and watched them, watched Shiro entirely at peace, watched the dog eye Kolivan curiously. 

 

Right.  Nightmare sated, his work was done.  Kolivan bowed his head once, quickly, to Blondie and continued on his journey down the hall.  He decided to head back to his quarters then, to go straight to bed.  Someone else was keeping guard tonight, and that put him at peace enough to rest.

**Author's Note:**

> "Blondie, no! Get away from the space mice!"
> 
>  
> 
> ...
> 
> "Let's put Blondie and Kaltenecker on two different hover pads and have them race." 
> 
> "You're on." 
> 
>  
> 
> ...
> 
>  
> 
> "Hey Hunk, y'know how cows can't go down stairs, but they can go up stairs?"
> 
> "Lance no."
> 
> "Lance yes!" 
> 
>  
> 
> ...
> 
>  
> 
> One day Blondie is all nervous about Shiro and sneaks onto his lion, and he doesn't notice it until they're halfway through the mission and he hears something panting behind him. 
> 
> "Black, why didn't you tell me?" 
> 
> -I like the little lion... she's cute...-
> 
> "Oh my God" 
> 
> -Like you-
> 
> "No. Stop it."
> 
>  
> 
> ...
> 
> The Black Lion is convinced that everything from Earth is cute. 
> 
>  
> 
> .... ANYWAYS. Where is this going next, my dudes? This series is going to continue to be a collection of oneshots with no discernible timeline, as far as I can tell, so basically anything goes ig. Hit me up.


End file.
